Coin controlled apparatus



Jane 28, 1938. M, L, LANbETH 2,121,971

COIN CONTROLLED APPARATUS Original Filed July 11, 1936 Patented June 28,1938 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics com CONTROLLED APPARATUS Originalapplication July 11, 1936, Serial No.

90,085. Divided and this application January 29, 1937, Serial No.122,969

2 Claims.

This invention relates to coin controlled apparatus, and moreparticularly to coin collectors for use at telephone pay stations, andthis application is a division of my cope-nding applica- '51 tion"Serial No. 90,085, filed July 11, 1936.

This invention is particularly applicable to telephone coin collectorsof the type wherein the user tentatively deposits a coin which issubsequently collected or refunded by the central office operator,depending upon whether or not the desired telephone connectionisobtained. A telephone c'oin collector of this-general type is disclosedin O. F. Forsberg U. S. Patent 1,043,219, issued November 5, 1912, inwhich a deposited coin is temporarily held upon a coin trap supported bya pivoted vane under the control of an electromagnet. At an appropriatetime the pivoted vane is moved by the electromagnet in one direction tocollect the deposited coin or in the opposite direction to refund thecoin depending upon which direction the current is made to flow throughthe electromagnet by the central ofiice operator. It is desirable toprovide'apparatus for this purpose that will initiate accurate andconsistent signals to the central ofiice indicating the deposit anddisposition of coins and also resist any attempts at fraudulentoperation.

An object of this invention isto provide a coin controlled apparatus ofsimple and inexpensive construction and efficient operation.

In accordance with the above object there is provided in one embodimentof the invention a telephone coin collector comprising an electromagnethaving a permanently magnetized armature mounted pivotally for limitedrotative movement, a coin hopper for receiving a deposited coin, and apivoted vane in the coin hopper operated directly by the armature forselectively directing the deposited coin into either a refund or collectchute in the hopper. A pivoted trap is provided in the hopper to supportthe deposited coin and to closea circuit connecting the apparatus to acentral office When initially deflected by the Weight of the depositedcoin. To insure consistent and positive operation of the apparatus, amagnetic latch isprovided to engage and lock the vane in its normalposition and release it when the electro magnet is energized. 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with the appendeddrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly fragmentary, of onetype of telephone coin collector with which this invention may be used;

Fig. 2 is a side View, partly in section, of an electromagneticallyoperated coin handling mechanism, embodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is a front view, partly in section, of the mechanism shown inFig. 2, taken along the line 33; 1

Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 3 taken along the line 44; 1

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional rear View taken on line 55 of Fig. 4,showing the coin divert ing vane in an inclined position;

Fig. 6' is an enlarged fragmentary section of Fig. 4, taken along theline 6-6 Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of Fig. 4taken along the line '!l, and

Fig. 8 is a similar vieWto Fig. '7 showing an alternative constructionvfor a coin directing vane and actuating armature.

In the operation of the telephone coin collector shown in the appendeddrawing, a person wish ing to use the equipment inserts a coin in a coingauge Ill mounted on the instrument housing. The deposited coin aftertraversing a coin chute H for testing its genuineness, drops into a coinhopper l2 and comes to rest on a coin trap I3 extending across the coinpassageway. The trap is pivotally mounted and while supporting adeposited coin engages a roller It on a vertical vane l5 pivoted at itslower end. A coin passage below the trap is divided into two channels, arefund chute 16 leading to an opening where coins are accessible fromoutside the collector housing, and a collect chute i'i leading to a cashcompartment within the housing. As explained in the Forsberg patent, ifthe vertical vane is moved to close the collect passageway, dropping ofthe trap will allow the deposited coin to fall into the refund chutewhile if the vane is moved to close the refund chute dropping of thetrap will allow the deposited coin to be diverted into the chute leadingto the cash compartment. The apparatus so far described is similar tothat disclosed in the Forsberg patent.

This invention is. concerned with improved means for actuating the coindirecting vane and controlling the operation of line circuits connectingthe apparatus with the central ofiice when a coin is deposited in thehopper or released from the coin trap.

Referring now to the drawing (Figs. 2 to 8' inclusive), an electromagnetI8 is suitably mounted adjacent to the coin hopper I2 on a common baseI9. The electromagnet comprises two coils 20, each wound on a core 2| ofsoft iron or other magnetic material. The ends of the cores adjacent tothe hopper terminate in pole pieces 22 and 23 of magnetic material,which project inwardly to the edge of spool heads 24 on the coils andhave opposed curved faces. At the end of the coils opposite the polepieces the magnetic cores are secured to a vertical flange 25 of thebase l9 by means of screws 26. With this construction the flange portionbetween the screws completes a magnetic circuit between the cores. theintroduction of direct current to their win-dings establishes opposedpolarities in the pole pieces in accordance with the direction of thecurrent as controlled by a central office operator. 7 A permanent magnet2'! having an elongated vertical axis is mounted pivotally on the baseby means of a leaf or reed spring 28. The magnet is located between andin the same plane with the pole pieces of the electromagnet. One end ofthe leaf spring is secured to the base with a suitable mounting 29 andthe center of the spring is cut out to yoke the permanent magnet and engage a slot 30 in the top portion of the magnet. The bottom end 3| ofthe magnet armature is V- shaped or knife-edged and rests in acorresponding V-shaped depression in the base. The leaf spring holds thepermanent magnet armature resiliently in a normally vertical position,retaining the upper pole of the magnet about midway between the two polepieces.

When the coils are energized the pole pieces, which are aligned with theupper pole of the magnet armature, attract and repel the upper pole ofthe magnet in accordance with the direction of current flow in thecoils, thereby causing the armature to rotate in the V-shaped depressionin the base against one of the pole pieces and carry the leaf springwith it. A disk 32 of non-magnetic material, such as brass, is securedto the two faces of the magnet which contact with a pole piece toprevent freezing of these members.

The coin diverting vane 15 is connected directly to the armature bymeans of an ear 33 on the vane having a U-shaped cross-section whichprojects through an opening in the hopper housing and engages 2. lug 34on the armature as shown in Fig. 'I. The lug projects from the side andnear the top of the armature and may be offset slightly to clear thesupporting leaf spring. Operation of the armature by the introduction ofcurrent to the coils, as controlled by the central ofiice operator,causes the vane to rotate on its pivot. This permits the trap to dropand release the deposited coin into either the refund or col lect chute.It is also practical to actuate the vane by engagement between the ear33 on the vane and the leaf spring, as shown in Fig. 8.

In order to insure satisfactory operation of the coin controllingmechanism and to prevent fraudulent manipulation of the apparatus toeffect the unauthorized return of deposited coins, the vane is locked inits normal or vertical position. This is accomplished with an elongatedlatch member 35 of magnetic material which is pivoted to the outside ofthe hopper on the same shaft 36 as the coin trap and extends downwardlyinto the plane of one of the pole pieces 22.

Secured to one face of the magnetic latch adjacent to the pole piece isa spring 31 of nonmagnetic material which is compressed against the polepiece and normally holds a notch 38 in the latch member in engagementwith the vane to prevent movement thereof. When the electromagnet isenergized to cause rotation of The two coils are connected in series andthe coin directing vane, the magnetic latch member is attracted by theadjacent pole piece with suflicient force to overcome the resistance ofthe spring and rotate the latch member on its pivot, thus releasing thevane. The spring and latch are comparatively light in weight and whenthe pole piece is energized the latch responds instantaneously torelease the vane before initial motion of the electromagnet armature,which is restrained by greater inertia and the supporting leaf spring,is applied to rotate the vane.

After the coin is collected, the line circuit is opened by the centraloflice operator. The coils and pole pieces are immediately deenergizedwhich permits the spring to restore the latch member into the path ofthe returning vane and forces the notch in the latch into engagementwith the vane, looking it in normal position. The spring 3'! is made ofnon-magnetic material which prevents freezing of the latch to thearmature and facilitates the restoring action of the spring when thepole piece is deenergized.

The coin trap is also employed to signal the deposit of a coin to thecentral office operator. A

projection 39 extends from the edge of the trap opposite the trap pivotand projects through an opening in the hopper wallto engage a notchedlug 4i] secured to a horizontal shaft 4| on the outside of the hopperwall when the trap is in a horizontal or highest position. The shaftalso carries at its outer end an insulated cam 42 which actuates a pairof contact springs 43. The contact springs are mounted on a bracket 44on the upper housing of the coin hopper. They are individually insulatedand provided with terminals 45 and 46 which are suitably connected to aline circuit running to the central office as explained in the Forsbergpatent.

In a complete cycle of operation the coin trap assumes three significantpositions. Normally it is retained in its highest position by frictionalengagement between the cam 42 and the two tensioned contact springs,aided by a counterweight 47, as shown in Fig. 4. In this position theprojection 39 on the trap is in engagement with the lug 40 and theinsulated cam on the connecting shaft 4! is positioned to hold the twocontact springs apart. When a coin is deposited on the trap the weightof the coin overcomes this frictional resistance and depresses the trapagainst the roller on the vertical vane beneath the trap. This movementrotates the shaft 4| and the cam 42 sufiiciently to permit the contactsprings to close and complete the line circuit to the central office.

As the next step in the cycle, the vane is rotated by operation of theelectromagnet to collect or return the, deposited coin. After the coinis released from the trap the electromagnet is deenergized, permittingthe leaf spring to return the armature and the connected vane to theirnormal positions. In this action the roller on the vane andcounterweight on the trap combine to raise the trap to a horizontalposition. To insure positive return of the trap to its normal orelevated position cam members 48 are secured pivotally to the bottom ofthe trap to engage the top of the vane on its return stroke. As shown inFig. 5 this cam has a flange 49 secured at an angle of approximately toa relatively long arm 50 which is normally in a vertical position. Whenthe coin directing vane is moved from its vertical position to drop thetrap, the cam. is free to swing on its pivot and avoid interference withthe vane movement. On the return stroke of the I vane the'. cam arm ispositionedin its path by the flange-49 whichrests against the trapbottom; In this position the elongated cam arm presents an invertedinclined planeto the vane which causes the vane to lift the trap to itsnormal position. The projecting'member on the coin trap engagesthenotched lug which rotates the horizontal shaft and the insulated campositioned between the line'switch contact springs sufficiently.

to' spread the springs and open the line circuit.

This construction provides a simple and emcient mechanism for actuatinga coin controlled apparatus and signalling the deposit and dispositionof coins in:the"apparatus. Movement of the trap by thejcoin directlyoperates the line circuit which insures positive and consistentperformance with a minimum of component mechanisms.

Variousmodifications and adaptations of the described embodiment arefeasible, and it is to be -,understood that the invention is limitedonly by the scope of the following claims:

What is claimed is: I 1. In a coin controlled apparatus, a coin hopper,a pivoted trap inthehopper deflectable from its normal positionbydep'osit of a coin in the hopper, a hinged coin directing vane belowthe trap for normally arresting deflection of the trap causedby depositof a coin, an electromagnet for rotating the vane to release the trapand restore the vane, and a cam pivoted on the bottom of the trapcomprising an elongated arm disposed in the path of the moving vane, anda second arm, of relatively shorter length fixed to the elongated armand adapted to permit the elongated arm to swing free of the vane on itsforward stroke I and to hold the elongated arm in the path of the vaneon its return stroke for causing the vane to restore the trap to itsnormal position.

2. In a coin controlled apparatus, a coin chute, a hinged coin trap inthe chute deflectable from its normal position by deposit of a coin apivoted vane normally positioned to arrest the movement of the trapcaused by deposit of a coin thereon,

means for rotating the vane to release the arrested trap andsubsequently restoring the vane, and

a pivotally mounted member on the trap adapted to swing free ofthe vaneas the'vane is rotatedfrom its normal position and-to engagethe vaneduring the restoration of the vane for returning the trap to normal.

MORTON L. LANDRETH.

